Kenyan President William Ruto Removes Budgets for First and Second Lady Offices After Anti-Government Shields – TrendyNewsReporters

Kenya’s President William Ruto has announced that the country’s National Treasury will cut spending to make room for key commitments following anti-government protests. In a live speech from State House, Ruto said the government would table a proposal to the National Assembly to approve massive spending cuts after the 2024 Finance Bill is withdrawn.

“Over the past few days, our treasury team has been assessing the negative impact of either cutting the entire Sh346 billion budget or borrowing the entire amount,” he said on Friday. “We have since found a middle ground and will propose to the National Assembly to cut the budget by Sh177 billion and borrow the difference.

The additional borrowing will increase our fiscal deficit from 3.3% to 4.6% and will be used to secure funding for essential government services,” President Ruto said. President Ruto listed several essential government initiatives that will receive continued funding, including the hiring of medical trainees, support for dairy farmers, road infrastructure projects, fertiliser subsidies and debt settlements owed to farmers in various sectors.

In addition to the financial adjustments, President Ruto has also removed budgets for the offices of the First Lady and Second Lady. Dissolution of 47 State Corporations to eliminate overlapping functions and reduce operating costs. Suspension of the filling of the positions of Chief Administrative Secretaries. Reduction of government advisors within the public service by 50 percent. Removal of budget lines for the offices of the First Lady, Deputy President’s wives and First Cabinet Secretary.

Suspension of non-essential travel and participation in government grants by state and public officials. “We are determined to improve the quality of services and ensure maximum value for the resources entrusted to us.”